Neufchâtel-en-Bray (;
Norman
Norman or Normans may refer to:
Ethnic and cultural identity
* The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 9th and 10th centuries
** People or things connected with the Norma ...
: ''Neucâtel-en-Bray, Le Câtel'') is a
commune situated in the
Seine-Maritime
Seine-Maritime () is a department of France in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the northern coast of France, at the mouth of the Seine, and includes the cities of Rouen and Le Havre. Until 1955 it was named Seine-Inf� ...
department of the Normandy
Region
In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...
, northern
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
. The
Neufchâtel cheese
Neufchâtel (, ; Norman: ''Neu(f)câtel'') is a soft, slightly crumbly, mold-ripened, bloomy-rind cheese made in the Neufchâtel-en-Bray region of Normandy. One of the oldest kinds of cheese in France, its production is believed to date back a ...
is made in the area.
Geography
Location
Neufchâtel is a commune of the
Pays de Bray
The Pays de Bray (, literally ''Land of Bray'') is a small (about 750 km2) natural region of France situated to the north-east of Rouen, straddling the French departments of the Seine-Maritime and the Oise (historically divided among the Pr ...
, and is traversed by the river
Béthune
Béthune ( ; archaic and ''Bethwyn'' historically in English) is a town in northern France, Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais Departments of France, department.
Geography
Béthune is located in the Provinces of Fran ...
and its tributary the Philbert.
Neufchâtel is situated about from
Londinières
Londinières () is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region in northern France.
Geography
A small farming town with a light industry situated by the banks of the river Eaulne in the Pays de Bray, some southeast of Die ...
and
Saint-Saëns, about from
Forges-les-Eaux
Forges-les-Eaux () is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region in northern France. On 1 January 2016, the former commune of Le Fossé was merged into Forges-les-Eaux.
Geography
A farming and spa town, with considerabl ...
, about from
Buchy, about from
Aumale
Aumale (), formerly known as Albemarle," is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region in north-western France. It lies on the River Bresle.
History
The town's Latin name was ''Alba Marla''. It was raised by William ...
, about 20 miles from
Blangy-sur-Bresle and about from
Dieppe
Dieppe (; ; or Old Norse ) is a coastal commune in the Seine-Maritime department, Normandy, northern France.
Dieppe is a seaport on the English Channel at the mouth of the river Arques. A regular ferry service runs to Newhaven in England ...
.
Major highways
The city is located near the intersection of Autoroute A28 which runs from
Rouen
Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine, in northwestern France. It is in the prefecture of Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one ...
to
Abbeville
Abbeville (; ; ) is a commune in the Somme department and in Hauts-de-France region in northern France.
It is the of one of the arrondissements of Somme. Located on the river Somme, it was the capital of Ponthieu.
Geography
Location
A ...
and A29 (the
Beuzeville-
Le Havre
Le Havre is a major port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy (administrative region), Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the Seine, river Seine on the English Channel, Channe ...
-
Amiens
Amiens (English: or ; ; , or ) is a city and Communes of France, commune in northern France, located north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme (department), Somme Departments of France, department in the region ...
-
Saint-Quentin route).
Toponymy
Old forms: Drincurt (1040–1047), Druoncurt 1152, Drioncurt (1174–1188), Driencourt was the most common form often distorted as Lincourt, an old toponym that disappeared completely by the 15th century.
It signifies “Drugo's farm”, the name of a Germanic person, which is always declined in the oblique case for names ending in -court and found in the patronym Druon. “Driencourt” has a homonym with Driencourt (Somme). Names ending in -court predate the formation of the
Duchy of Normandy
The Duchy of Normandy grew out of the 911 Treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte between Charles the Simple, King Charles III of West Francia and the Viking leader Rollo. The duchy was named for its inhabitants, the Normans.
From 1066 until 1204, as a r ...
and correspond with the Frankish expansion.
The old parish of Nogent, from the Celtic Novientum “new establishment” (perhaps the primitive Gallic name), has been linked to Neufchâtel.
It received its current name from a castle built there by
Henry Beauclerc in the 12th century. At that time, it began to be called by its Norman name, Neufcastel, and was referred to by both names until the 15th century.
A French form usually replaces a dialectal form, as is noted, with large towns. North of the
Joret line
The Joret line (; Norman: ''lène Joret:'' Picard: ''line Joret'') is an isogloss that divides the langues d'oïl. Dialects north and west of it preserve Latin and before ; dialects south and east of it palatalize them. In Old French the res ...
, the form of the name in Norman dialect would be Neufcastel, like the very small village of Radicatel. On the other hand,
Bourg-Achard or
Pont-de-l'Arche
Pont-de-l'Arche () is a commune in France, commune of the Eure ''département in France, département'' in France. Notable monuments include the parish church of Church of Notre-Dame-des-Arts, Notre-Dame-des-Arts, which was built in the late Flam ...
underwent the same Francization: they are dialectally Bourg-Acard (similar to the surname Acard) and Pont-de-l'Arque (see also
Arques-la-Bataille
Arques-la-Bataille () is a Communes of France, commune in the Seine-Maritime Departments of France, department in the Normandy (administrative region), Normandy region in north-western France.
The zoologist Henri Marie Ducrotay de Blainville (177 ...
, a small parish).
History
It is the former capital of the
Pays de Bray
The Pays de Bray (, literally ''Land of Bray'') is a small (about 750 km2) natural region of France situated to the north-east of Rouen, straddling the French departments of the Seine-Maritime and the Oise (historically divided among the Pr ...
and a former fortress town. The fortress was dismantled in 1596.
The city was sieged, burned and destroyed several times during the wars between the 12th and 16th centuries.
In 1463,
Louis XI of France
Louis XI (3 July 1423 – 30 August 1483), called "Louis the Prudent" (), was King of France from 1461 to 1483. He succeeded his father, Charles VII. Louis entered into open rebellion against his father in a short-lived revolt known as the ...
installed his
chancery
Chancery may refer to:
Offices and administration
* Court of Chancery, the chief court of equity in England and Wales until 1873
** Equity (law), also called chancery, the body of jurisprudence originating in the Court of Chancery
** Courts of e ...
. Many letters and administrative acts refer to this place. He stayed here for a few months in 1463 and one month in 1464 with his wife Queen
Charlotte of Savoy
Charlotte of Savoy (16 November 1441 – 1 December 1483) was Queen of France as the second spouse of Louis XI. She served as regent during the king's absence in 1465, and was a member of the royal regency council during her son's minority in 148 ...
.
In July 1472, after the
Siege of Beauvais,
Charles le Téméraire
Charles Martin (10 November 1433 – 5 January 1477), called the Bold, was the last duke of Burgundy from the House of Valois-Burgundy, ruling from 1467 to 1477. He was the only surviving legitimate son of Philip the Good and his third wife, Is ...
totally destroyed the city.
It was the seat of the
district
A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...
from 1790 to 1795.
The town was occupied by the Prussian army during the
Franco-Prussian War
The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...
of 1870.
The Arrondissement of Neufchâtel was dissolved following the
Poincaré
Poincaré is a French surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Henri Poincaré
Jules Henri Poincaré (, ; ; 29 April 185417 July 1912) was a French mathematician, Theoretical physics, theoretical physicist, engineer, and philos ...
Decree.
The downtown area was bombarded on 19 and 24 May 1940 and again on Wednesday 7 June 1940 during the Battle of France in World War II, causing a fire that burnt for several days, destroying most of it. During the reconstruction, a political administration had been created by Robert Auzelle, which rebuilt the mayor's office, court, tax office and theater in the same place and style as before.
On 9 April 1962, Neufchâtel changed its name to Neufchâtel-en-Bray.
Heraldry
Administration
Population
In 2017, the commune had 4,737 inhabitants.
Economy
*Gervais Dairy, later
Danone
Danone S.A. () is a French multinational corporation, multinational food-products corporation based in Paris. It was founded in 1919 in Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain. It is listed on Euronext Paris, where it is a component of the CAC 40 stock mark ...
(maker of Petit Suisse until closing in 2008)
*Cheese manufacturing (
Neufchâtel cheese
Neufchâtel (, ; Norman: ''Neu(f)câtel'') is a soft, slightly crumbly, mold-ripened, bloomy-rind cheese made in the Neufchâtel-en-Bray region of Normandy. One of the oldest kinds of cheese in France, its production is believed to date back a ...
)
*Branch office of the
Rouen
Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine, in northwestern France. It is in the prefecture of Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one ...
Chamber of Commerce and Industry
In terms of employment, the city is marked by a preponderance of public sector jobs. As of 2010, the hospital had 210 employees, the high school (200 employees), the commune (130 employees) and the middle school (80 employees). The private sector is primarily represented by the Leclerc Center (120 employees) and the industrial zone enterprises; Celec (40 salaried employees), Mecanolav Ridel (40 salaried employees), Grosse Équipement and Peltier Nettoyage (more than 30 employees each), followed by Maison Régionale de l'Eau (MRE), Poxblanc Charpentes, Bastéa Constructeur, Guerard (20 jobs each), and many other artisanal, commercial, and small enterprises.
Municipal services
A former arrondissement seat, Neufchâtel-en-Bray has a number of public amenities, including a local hospital and a public secondary school divided into three departments (general education, vocational and agricultural). Until 2010, there was a civil court and a commercial court, victims of the Dati reform.
The community also lost a station on the Paris-Saint-Lazarre – Dieppe line when the line from Serqueux and Dieppe was removed (a move ruled illegal by the administrative court).
Today, Neufchâtel-en-Bray is served by Transport Express Régional (TER) Upper Normandy buses connecting Dieppe to Gare de Gisors via Serqueux. The Neufchâtel-en-Bray station, rebuilt after World War II in a local style, is now a venue while the railroad bed is a hiking trail.
The town also has sports facilities (swimming pool and gym) and recently renovated cinema and theater.
Places and monuments
*Eglise Notre Dame, a church built in the 12th, 13th, and 16th centuries.
*Mathon-Durand Museum, a museum of art and culture created in 1823, housed in a building from the early 17th century with a facade in the Henry IV style with decorative half timbering set in masonry.
Musée Mathon Durand
Répertoire des Musées de France
Notable personalities
* Jehan de Launay (also known as Launoy, Lannais or Lasne): Captain of the Kortrijk
Kortrijk ( , ; or ''Kortrik''; ), sometimes known in English as Courtrai or Courtray ( ), is a Belgian City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region, Flemish Provinces of Belgium, province of We ...
garrison in 1380 and captain of the Ghent rebels in 1381. Commanding several thousand men, he was defeated at the Battle of Nevele (near Ghent) on 13 May 1381 by the troops of Louis of Male, Count of Flanders. After that defeat, he found refuge in the Bray Country in the lands of his maternal grandmother Jeanne de Calletot where he sided with the King of England. Jehan de Launay became the captain of the town and fortress at Neufchâtel-en-Bray. He probably died in 1414. He was the son of Mathieu de Launay and a lady of the House of Montmorency
The House of Montmorency () was one of the oldest and most distinguished noble families in France.
Origins
The family name Montmorency derived from their castle in the ''pays de France'', recorded in Latin as ''Mons Maurentiacus'', in 993. '' ...
and the grandson of Jean de Launay, Lord of Lannay and Thieusies
Thieusies (; ) is a village of Wallonia and a district of the municipality of Soignies, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium.
Since 1977, Thieusies formed part of the municipality of Soignies, also comprising the villages of Casteau
Cas ...
, Baron of Rumes, Grand Bailiff of Hainaut.
*Clement Lasne (also known as Laisne): Legal counsel and advisor to Catherine of France, Queen of England, until 1436 for her dowery of Neufchâtel-en-Bray.
*Jehan Lasne (also known as Laisne): Lieutenant of the Bailiff of Caux who oversaw the resurgence of Neufchâtel-en-Bray in the first half of the 15th century (the son of Clement Lasne).
*Catherine of Valois, Queen of England, spouse of Henry V, King of England: She stayed in Neufchâtel-en-Bray around 1436 when Clement Lasne was her legal counsel and advisor.
*Louis XI of France
Louis XI (3 July 1423 – 30 August 1483), called "Louis the Prudent" (), was King of France from 1461 to 1483. He succeeded his father, Charles VII. Louis entered into open rebellion against his father in a short-lived revolt known as the ...
and Charlotte of Savoy
Charlotte of Savoy (16 November 1441 – 1 December 1483) was Queen of France as the second spouse of Louis XI. She served as regent during the king's absence in 1465, and was a member of the royal regency council during her son's minority in 148 ...
stayed there.
* Percheval de Grouchy: Royal prosecutor at Neufchâtel-en-Bray, author of the Latin
Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
Poem “Saliberna” dedicated to penitent priests, successors to the first monks. Grouchy preserved the old family coat of arms: “Or, fretty of six pieces azure”. The Grouchy-Robertot family, meanwhile, carried “argent with three trefoils vert”, the arms of the d'Escorchebœuf family, taken by Jean I in about 1370 and were modified in 1671.
*Charles Lemercier de Longpré, baron d'Haussez
Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was ...
(born 20 October 1778, in Neufchâtel – died 10 November 1854, Saint-Saëns), French politician, Deputy of the Lower Seine and Minister of the Navy (1829–1830) during the Second Restoration.
*Paul-Napoléon Roinard
Paul-Napoléon Roinard (4 February 1856 – 26 October 1930) was a French anarchist poet.
Works
* ''Nos plaies'', poésies, cover drawn by the author, Paris, Soc. typographique, 1886, in-18;
* ''Chanson d’Amour'', poetry, music by Louis He ...
(1856–1930), poet
*David Douillet
David Donald Hubert Roger Douillet (; born 17 February 1969 in Rouen) is a French politician and retired judoka.
Douillet won two consecutive gold medals at the 1996 and 2000 Summer Olympics in Atlanta and Sydney competing in the heavyweight di ...
(born 17 February 1969 in Rouen), French judoka, Olympic and world champion.
Sister city
Whitchurch, Shropshire
Shropshire (; abbreviated SalopAlso used officially as the name of the county from 1974–1980. The demonym for inhabitants of the county "Salopian" derives from this name.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West M ...
, United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
, has been the sister city of Neufchâtel-en-Bray since 1975.
Fairs
The fair is around the first Sunday in September.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Neufchatel-en-Bray
Communes of Seine-Maritime